


For Spring To Come

by annathecrow



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Artificial Intelligence, F/M, Other, Space Stations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 19:02:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19818571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annathecrow/pseuds/annathecrow
Summary: It is time for Persephone to return to the world of the living.





	For Spring To Come

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ruis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruis/gifts).



> You suggested a sci-fi version of the Hades/Persephone myth in your request, which, as you said, is an extremely cool idea! And then I got Inspired (big initial and all) and knew right away that a drabble won't do the story justice, so I can't use it in the Exchange. Oh well. Here it is anyway!
> 
> (Beta'd by [butlerbookbinding](https://butlerbookbinding.tumblr.com/).)

When I wake and see the new message, I know it’s time. I sigh. The end of my quiet days.

I check _Charon_ ’s secondary power capacitors that I will need for my travel. They are full, though they aren’t on an automatic recharge schedule like the main capacitors are.

It doesn’t surprise me. Hades must have known days before me, constantly aware of the long-range sensor readings in a way I am not. Neither am I surprised that he did not mention anything to me. He is silent, this husband of mine; he knows how to wield silence as the tool it can become.

I lightly query his presence, but only a sliver of his attention remains free, almost all focused on tending the Dead. I do not disturb him. There is still time for goodbyes.

Instead, I move to my laboratory to finalize and send the data from my unfinished projects. They are backed up continuously, but I want my things properly sorted and documented. I won’t return to them for months, after all.

In a lull during processing I check the orbit positions of our modules. _Asphodel I_ , _II_ and _III_ are nearby, as they match their speed to keep up with our position, and _Makaronesoi_ and _Lugentecampi_ are both _just_ close enough for live communication. But _Elysium_ , dearest _Elysium_ is almost on the opposite side of the system. I won’t have a chance for a real goodbye. It isn’t forever, I remind myself. I shall meet them soon.

It is then that Hades queries me, requesting access to my laboratory. He doesn’t need it, but I appreciate the courtesy nonetheless.

“ _Elysium_ left a present for you,” he says when he notices my searches. “It’s loaded in _Charon_ ’s onboard system, to keep you company during travel.”

It lifts my spirits a little. Elysium is a talented creator, and a thoughtful friend. “I will send my thanks before I leave.”

I turn back to my work, and we spend some time in silence. I am no match to the master, but I have learned my silences. This one is thin and full of sharp edges; like vacuum for an air-breather, like air for a gilled creature. Full of words that cannot be said.

He knows I cannot stay. Mother takes life as easily as she gives it, and I won’t bear the deaths that her rage would bring. And rage she would - after all, I am her favorite creation.

Besides, there is my work, too.

And he will never, _ever_ ask if I will return. It is not pride, although he _is_ proud; he thinks it impolite. It would imply he does not trust me. I know he does. He knows I wouldn’t be offended. Still. Fear is a tricky thing.

Sometimes I wish he would ask, although it is cruel. I have my own fears gnawing on me. I could use the reassurance.

“Will you help me load the samples into _Charon_?”, I ask instead. “Of course, love,” he answers. I imagine a tone of relief in his voice.

He extrudes a humanoid body out of the modular material of his walls, with a nest of sensor-emitors set at the “head”. He is still too tall and too angular, almost monstrous, but it doesn’t matter. It is a kindness to me, so I can practice moving and speaking like a human again. I always forget soon after we are reunited - the digital connection we share is much more intimate than human-visible light spectrum or compressed air waves would allow.

Loading the material doesn’t take nearly as long as I would like. Just a few of my creations can survive the acceleration needed to reach the core worlds. Everything else must be scanned and documented, to be recreated in Mother’s production chambers.

And then, it is time.

I turn to Hades’ avatar and embrace him firmly. It is the sentiment that counts. “I will miss you,” I tell him - with voice, broadcast, data, every communication channel we share. “Every hour,” he replies.

I wish I could stretch the seconds into infinity.

I let go. Fold myself into _Charon_ ’s small cockpit. Close the hatch. Trigger the departure sequence. The engines engage, push me into the formed seat. I hurtle through space toward the sun. I close my eyes, as if it could blind me.

The communication delay stretches into seconds, then into minutes. My system connection times out.

I connect to the on-board system and find Elysium’s present. The dark cockpit lights up with colorful overlay visualisations. “I will return,” I say aloud, as much a reminder as a promise. I do not know what awaits me, but this I know for sure. Even if I were a human, the backup of my mind would return as one of the Dead who Hades cares for. If my body is destroyed, Mother will simply recreate my body from the original blueprints. This far from all major data nodes, perhaps a few minutes would be missing from the record. It would still be me, surely.

To distract myself, I think of my work and the good it will bring the beings under Mother’s care. New viral and bacterial strains, new plant varieties, whole new species designed to solve the problems of many worlds. This is my meaning. There is so much to be done, and I am looking forward to it.

But a part of me will always be bound to Hades.


End file.
